RE: Need an operational Definition of Scientific Management

["Peter Collis" <P.Collis@leeds.ac.uk>]

Thanks for this, though I think it is a slight distortion of what I was =
saying.  I was reading the tone of the discussion as implying that =
"Scientific Management" appeared to be being seen as a universal answer. =
 My actual point was that I do not believe this, and I strongly disagree =
that science is the "only way" to understand how to improve =
organizational performance.
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However, it may be that people are talking about different things when =
they talk of scientific management.  "The method of science" was =
mentioned in a previous posting, and I actually don't understand this =
concept of a single view of scientific method.  There is philosophy in =
science, and DENizens might well be interested in the British Journal of =
the Philosophy of Science, which can be found at  =
http://www.oxfordjournals.org/phisci/about.html  As you might guess, I =
am not myself a scientist, I am a musician, though I share the quest for =
knowledge, from which I construct theories.  I approach my study of =
management with rigour, and share some approaches with my scientific =
colleagues, but none of us believe that there is only one way.
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It may be that this is at the heart of my concern.  If people are using =
"Scientific Management" as a shorthand for "there is only one way", then =
I disagree.  If it is shorthand for "rigorous collection of data, then =
interpretation using the best available knowledge we have", then I =
agree.  This latter version implies that as we grow, we acquire new =
knowledge, enabling us to better interpret the data.  In my daily work, =
I lead and manage teams of people, who may well need different things =
from me tomorrow than they needed yesterday and today.  I do not believe =
this to be a science, but an art.
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Peter
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Peter Collis
Director of Learning and Teaching
School of Performance and Cultural Industries
University of Leeds
Bretton Campus, Wakefield, WF4 4LG
011 33 43 90 25
p.collis@leeds.ac.uk